After enduring a record-setting New England winter, we are all looking forward to Spring, which means new life on many levels.
Midwifery would be a possible topic for book groups who make their selections based on a theme.
Start with Anita Diament's 2007 best seller The Red Tent, an historical fiction based on women of the Bible. The emphasis is not on religion, but on women's issues such as sisterhood in a man's world, and, of course birth.
Chris Bohalian's jaw-dropping Midwives debuted in 1998 and was an Oprah Choice. Even on a second or third reading, I hold my breath at the conclusion of this book.
Patricia Harmon who is a Certified Nurse Midwife brings us two newer books set in Depression-era West Virginia. Her first one, The Midwife of Hope River (2012) is a interesting narrative of birth and death during the 1920's and 30's when life was challenging throughout the country, but nowhere more so than the coal mines of West Virginia. She also brings in some lively descriptions of the American labor movement, the American Socialist movement and views of Pittsburgh during the 1920's.
Harmon's newest novel The Reluctant Midwife (2015)is a sequel which takes us back to Hope River. Public Health Nurse Becky Myers is called upon to assist her friend local midwife Patience Murphy in delivering babies. Nurse Myers is also called upon to provide medical care in a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp, giving us a rare glimpse into this episode in American history. both books a eminently readable and bring the reader into a time and place long gone.
Enjoy!
